Why these automations matter

If you run WordPress or WooCommerce, you’re juggling forms, emails, socials, and customer follow-ups. n8n (an open-source, no/low-code automation tool) connects them so repetitive work runs on autopilot—without per-task fees. In this guide you’ll get 7 ready-to-use workflowswith triggers, nodes, step-by-steps, KPIs, and pro tips.

Who this is for: site owners, marketers, agencies, and shops using WordPress/WooCommerce who want reliable, vendor-neutral automations.

Table of contents

1. Lead capture → Google Sheets/CRM + instant alert

2. New post → Auto-share to LinkedIn/X/Facebook (via Buffer)

3. WooCommerce “please review” nudges (email/WhatsApp)

4. Abandoned cart recovery with a one-time coupon

5. Editorial calendar → Auto-publish posts on schedule

6. New YouTube video → SEO’d WordPress post

7. Smart lead segmentation & tagging (UTM-aware)
   Bonus: FAQs, security checklist, and keyword strategy
   
   

Before you start (quick setup)

• WordPress: enable REST API (on by default), permalinks set, HTTPS, and create an Application Password (or use OAuth/JWT) for API calls.

• WooCommerce: REST API keys (read/write) for automations that create coupons or fetch orders.

• n8n: host it yourself (Docker/VPS) or use a managed provider. Create credentials for Google, Slack, Mailchimp, Buffer, WhatsApp/Twilio, etc.

• Webhooks: if your form plugin doesn’t support webhooks, add a bridge plugin (e.g., WP Webhooks, Uncanny Automator) or use n8n’s WordPress/WooCommerce nodes where available.
  
  

1) Lead capture → Google Sheets/CRM + instant alert

Use when: you want every form submission in one sheet/CRM and a real-time alert to sales.

Trigger options:

• n8n Webhook node receiving a POST from Contact Form 7 / Gravity Forms / WPForms.

• Or n8n WordPress Trigger for new comments/users (alternative for simple leads).
  
  

Nodes you’ll use: Webhook → Google Sheets (Append) → Slack/Email (SMTP/Gmail) → (Optional) Mailchimp/HubSpot.

Steps:

1. Create a Webhook node in n8n (POST). Copy the URL.

2. In your form plugin, add a webhook action to send submission data to that URL.

3. Google Sheets node → “Append” to your “Website Leads” sheet (map name, email, phone, message, UTM).

4. Slack or Email node → post “New lead from {{page}}: {{name}} / {{email}}” with a link to the sheet.

5. (Optional) Mailchimp/HubSpot node → upsert contact with tags like lead|wordpress-form|homepage.
   
   

KPI: time-to-first-touch < 15 minutes, % submissions reaching CRM = 100%.
Pro tip: append UTM parameters and referrer to your forms; send them along to the sheet/CRM for meaningful campaign ROI.

2) New post → Auto-share to LinkedIn/X/Facebook (via Buffer)

Use when: you publish consistently and want instant, formatted social posts.

Trigger options:

• n8n RSS Trigger pointing to your site feed, or WordPress Trigger for “new post published”.
  
  

Nodes: Trigger → Function (build message) → Buffer (Create Update) → (Optional) Delay for staggered posting.

Steps:

1. Trigger when status changes to “publish”.

2. Build a social caption: {{post_title}} — {{excerpt 140}} Read: {{post_url}}

3. Buffer node → push to LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook Page.

4. Add a Delay node for reposts (e.g., +24h, +7d with different captions).
   
   

KPI: CTR from social, referral sessions, follower growth.
Pro tip: use Open Graph image templates. Auto-attach the featured image URL so every post has a visual.

3) WooCommerce “please review” nudges (email/WhatsApp)

Use when: you need more product reviews and seller ratings without nagging.

Trigger:WooCommerce Webhook for order.completed.

Nodes: Webhook → Wait/Delay (3–7 days) → IF (skip if already reviewed/refunded) → Email or WhatsApp (Twilio/WhatsApp Cloud API) → Google Sheets/DB log.

Steps:

1. Create WooCommerce webhook to n8n when an order is completed.

2. Delay 72–168 hours (give customers time to use the product).

3. IF node calls WooCommerce (List product reviews by customer) → exit if found/refunded.

4. Email/WhatsApp message: short, human, with direct product review link and optional one-time coupon for next order.

5. Log send status and clicks to a sheet/DB.
   
   

KPI: review rate (reviews/orders), average rating trend, repeat purchase uplift.
Pro tip: add a second gentle nudge at +10 days only if the first wasn’t clicked.

Keywords: WooCommerce review automation, WhatsApp review request, post-purchase flow WordPress, increase product reviews.

4) Abandoned cart recovery with a one-time coupon

Use when: shoppers add items but don’t check out.

Trigger options:

• WooCommerce Abandoned Cart plugin webhook to n8n, or

• Track user email capture in checkout → Delay → check order status.
  
  

Nodes: Webhook/Schedule → IF (order not completed) → WooCommerce (Create Coupon) → Email/WhatsApp send → Wait → IF converted? → Close.

Steps:

1. Receive cart data + customer email/phone.

2. After 1–3 hours, check if an order exists for that email.

3. If not, Create Coupon (unique, 48h expiry, min spend).

4. Send Email/WhatsApp with cart contents and coupon.

5. After 48h, check conversion. If yes, tag as recovered. If no, add to nurture list.
   
   

KPI: recovered revenue, recovery rate %, coupon redemptions.
Pro tip: test two variants: free shipping vs 5–10% off; many stores find shipping wins.

5) Editorial calendar → Auto-publish posts on schedule

Use when: your team drafts in Google Sheets/Notion and you want reliable publishing without logging into wp-admin.

Trigger:Schedule node (hourly) or Cron.

Nodes: Schedule → Google Sheets/Notion (Get rows) → IF (publish_at <= now AND status = “ready”) → WordPress (Create/Update Post) → Slack notify.

Steps:

1. Keep an “Editorial Calendar” sheet with columns: title, slug, excerpt, content_html, featured_image_url, categories, tags, publish_at, status.
   
   

2. On schedule, fetch rows where status = ready and publish_at <= now.
   
   

3. WordPress node creates the post with status=publish, maps categories/tags, downloads featured image to media, sets author.
   
   

4. Notify Slack: “Published {{title}}”.
   
   

KPI: % posts published on time, publishing cadence, time saved/week.
Pro tip: add a Proofreading gate: only rows with qa=pass move to publish.

6) New YouTube video → SEO’d WordPress post

Use when: you repurpose video content into searchable blog posts.

Trigger:YouTube Trigger for “new video on channel”.

Nodes: Trigger → HTTP (fetch transcript via YouTube/Transcript service) → Function (summarize to 500–800 words; add H2s, bullets) → WordPress (Create Post) → Buffer share.

Steps:

1. Watch your channel for new uploads.

2. Pull transcript; strip timestamps.

3. Generate a clean post body with: intro, H2 sections, embedded video, key takeaways.

4. Create a WordPress Post:
   
   

• Title = video title (tweak for keywords)
  
  

• Slug = youtube-{{slugified-title}}
  
  

• Featured image = video thumbnail
  
  

• Internal links to related posts
  
  

5. Auto-share via Buffer.
   
   

KPI: organic clicks to repurposed posts, time-on-page, assisted conversions.
Pro tip: add FAQ schema (Q/A pulled from the transcript) to win rich results.

7) Smart lead segmentation & tagging (UTM-aware)

Use when: you want cleaner lists and higher email ROI.

Trigger: same Webhook as #1 (form submission) or WooCommerce new customer.

Nodes: Webhook → Function (parse UTM, page path, checkbox answers) → Mailchimp/Sendinblue/HubSpot (Upsert + Tags) → Google Sheets log.

Steps:

1. Capture utm_source, utm_campaign, utm_medium, and page path in hidden form fields.
   
   

2. In n8n, create logic to assign segments, e.g.:
   
   

• utm_source=google → tag: paid-search

• path contains /pricing → tag: hot

• checkbox “I use WooCommerce” → tag: woocommerce
  
  

3. Upsert the contact to your ESP/CRM with those tags.
   
   

4. Add them to the right automation series (welcome, evaluation, buyer, customer).
   
   

KPI: open/click rates by segment, unsubscribes down, MQL→SQL conversion.
Pro tip: build a lead score with a rolling sum of events (visited pricing, downloaded guide, replied to email).

Security & reliability checklist (don’t skip)

• Rotate API keys and use scoped access.

• Validate payloads (e.g., check HMAC from WooCommerce webhooks).

• Rate limits & retries: add Retry On Fail and Error Trigger nodes.

• Data minimization: only store fields you truly need (GDPR/DPDP compliance).

• Observability: log run IDs and outcomes to a sheet/DB; set alerts in Slack on failures.